ACERWC African Committee of Experts on the Rights & Welfare of the Child the development of “a common strategy for implementing migration policy among IGAD Member States (MSs) that reflects harmonization of laws, standards, procedures, information, dissemination and sharing; compilation of statistics; production of documents, and efficient use of resources.” 495 These efforts are welcome because they have a bearing on the improvement of coordination of regional policies on migration of children. 6.3 Lack of documentation, data and statistics of children on the move There is considerable literature in existence on the scope and nature of migration of people, and children in particular, within Africa. However, this literature on migration indicates a lack of attention to children and youth in both numbers and analysis.496 The specific patterns of movement of children within the larger patterns of mixed migration are to a great extent unknown.497 The particular categories of children and youth on the move are obviously not fixed or mutually exclusive.498 Because of the diversity of factors that cause movement of children and youth, their differing profiles depending on their age, nationality, sex, ethnicity, religion, their accompanied or unaccompanied status, uniqueness of their family and other mutating circumstances, there is need for disaggregated data.499 In many situations, children on the move remain undocumented and use irregular channels.500 Although children below 18 years are frequently counted separately from adults, the particular duration of adolescence (10 to 19 years) generally misses and often there is no distinction between boys and girls, or between children migrating independently and those moving in the company of their parents.5501 In addition, as stated by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants there is generally an absence of children rights perspective in legislation and national policies and absence of accurate statistical information on the estimation of children on the move internationally.502 The greatest coverage of child disaggregated data is available for refugees with information disaggregated in terms of age groups (below 18 years) for approximately for approximately 62 per cent of refugees globally.503 Major gaps are evident in the availability of the age-disaggregated data for stateless persons and IDPs globally. Only 1 per cent of statistics on stateless persons avails an age breakdown and only 18 per cent of IDPs.504 Therefore even in Africa, what is known about children and youth on the move is ‘at best, a partial and fragmented picture and an unknown 495. 496. 497. 498. 499. 500. 501. 502. 503. 504 . 88 IGAD-Migration Action Plan (MAP) to operationalize The IGAD Regional Migration Policy Framework (IGAD-RMPF) 2015-2020 p 9. RMMS, ‘Young and on the Move: Children and youth in mixed migration flows within and from the Horn of Africa’ September 2016. As above p 10. As above. Abramovich et al, The Rights of Children, Youth and Women in the Context of Migration: Conceptual Basis and Principles for Effective Policies with a Human Rights and Gender Based Approach UNICEF Social and Economic Policy Working Paper 2011 p 4. RMMS’ Young and on the Move (2015) p 10. As above. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Jorge Bustamante (2009) A/HRC/ 11/7 paras 24, 20. RMMS’ Young and on the Move(2015) P 15. As above.